Headman calls for unity in clinic construction

Mthabisi Tshuma, Sunday News Correspondent

HEADMAN Mbimba under Chief Madlambudzi has urged villagers under his jurisdiction in Bulilima District, Matabeleland South Province, to work together in pulling resources towards the construction of Jutshume Clinic in Ward 10.

The clinic is located at Jutshume Village, a border settlement between Zimbabwe and Botswana.

For years, the community has had to walk over 30 kilometres to access health services at Hingwe Clinic and Madlambudzi Clinic before the opening of Mbimba Clinic in Ward 10 in 2023

The opening of Mbimba Clinic in the ward has been a huge relief, but still the community has to walk over 10 kilometres to receive medical attention.

For some, they opt to board road transport and head to Plumtree Town or the worst being to travel to the neighbouring country, Botswana, in search of medical assistance.

This has had a toll on the lives of people from the ward, mainly at villages that include Jutshume, Nsubule and Mahole.
Jutshume Clinic is set to cater for these villages and various institutions that include Mbimba 2 Primary School.

At window level, Justhume Clinic is being constructed through resources sourced by locals in the form of raw materials like pit and river sand and once-off payments by each homestead, financed by the CAMPFIRE dividends, diaspora and financed by local legislator Cde Dingumuzi Phuti, who initiated the footing of the slab and has pledged 50 bags of cement towards the construction process.

 

 

Addressing villagers at a meeting held at the clinic site recently, Headman Mbimba said the community should emulate the strategies they used in making certain that Mbimba  Clinic becomes operational.

“When we were building Mbimba Clinic, villages from all around the ward took part and we managed to ensure the clinic is functional.

“That method should be used once again and the villages that are close to Mbimba Clinic should not shy away from this development, but also contribute. Each homestead has a fee that it has to pay and it’s wiser to do so than to be found wanting,” said Headman Mbimba.

Cde Phuti, who is also Deputy Minister of Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services, said the community has been struggling to access health services.

“Jutshume is among the furthest peripheral parts of our country and our district, Bulilima. It is the furthest towards the border with Botswana. Most of the time, such areas are neglected and they end up embarrassing, with many seeking services outside the country, in this case, neighbouring Botswana.

 

“To avoid such hurdles and hustles we thought we should add yet another health facility to give comfort and indeed an upper middle income society status to the settlement and the lives of the people from Jutshume,” said Cde Phuti.

He said the area is expected to grow and the need is inevitable.
“This community is likely to grow as you look at the historical settlement there, they never used to be people as it borders and nears the conservancy or game park. But when we look at it today, there are a lot of homesteads. It indicates that as people continue to seek settlement and plough the land, they will be going further west and as they go west, it is likely to be populated.

“We are also in a drive to shorten distances between these health facilities. When you calculate from Jutshume Shopping Centre to Mbimba Clinic it’s 13,5 kilometres. It explains that the distance is too much for people to travel on foot for health services,” said Cde Phuti.

To ease the pressure to the health facility, Cde Phuti said they are mooting to build a health post for the Bambadzi community.
“That’s not enough, as we are still going to construct a health post for the Bambadzi community. We would have done something for that part of the country as we do not want our people to struggle to access health care by travelling to Plumtree, which from Mahole to Plumtree will be approximately 150 kilometres,” said Cde Phuti.

Ward 10 Councillor Sikhumbuzo Dube said the community is in dire need and as representatives of the people in decision making processes, they will work flat out to address their needs.
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